Sad Day for Test Cricket Fans Are Coming Soon

The New Zealand veteran and former captain Brendon McCullum feels that the day is not far when Test cricket will end surely due to the popularity of T20 cricket.

Cricket news: I am not seeing much hope for Test cricket in the future, says McCullum

When the two English cricketers, Alex Hales and Adil Rashid, told in March that they would give a break to their respective first-class careers and would not focus much on red-ball cricket, many raised questions regarding their decision.

Later the limited-overs captain of England, Eoin Morgan, supported them and added his worry regarding the five-day cricket format. “If something was going to be done about it [Test cricket], it probably should have been done already,” said Morgan.

At present Brendon McCullum, who is currently playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL, has shared his gloomy outlook and said that there are not many teams who can support the resources to organise Test cricket.

“I firmly believe that Test cricket won’t be around in time, because there’s only so many teams that can afford to play it. And whilst we all adore Test cricket, and for me it is the purest form of the game – I’m loyal to it – I’m also a realist that people are turning up and watching T20,” McCullum said.

He even added that the future of cricket would be similar like football, with the players’ first commitments resting with their respective franchises.

“Long long-term, I see a T20 franchise as owning players, and I don’t see them releasing those players to play for their nation in a Test match,” he added.

ICC have granted the status of Full Members to Ireland and Afghanistan, raising the number to 12 Test playing nations. Ireland are already playing against Pakistan, while Afghanistan will begin their test career against India next month in Bangalore.

Despite ICC’s efforts to bring more teams into the longer format of the game is not enough to ensure the former and current crickets as they remain unsure about the future of Test cricket.